AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 3/15/24

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.797022; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.153658; American Dollar to Euro = 1.199276; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008886; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050730.

Futures were little changed after slipping 0.3 percent on Tuesday, the first decline in four sessions. Crude inventories fell by 1.56 million barrels last week, while motor-fuel stockpiles gained 520,000 barrels, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to report. A Bloomberg survey forecast a 2.45 million-barrel oil-supply drop ahead of government data Wednesday. “The U.S. shale machine is poised to shift up a gear as producers make hay amid the healthier price backdrop,” said Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. West Texas Intermediate for December delivery slid 8 cents to $57.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:04 a.m. London time. Total volume traded was 12 percent below the 100-day average. Prices slipped from the highest level in more than two years to close at $57.20 on Tuesday. Click Read More below for additional information.

Oil edged up to about $49 a barrel on Monday as fewer drilling rigs were added in the United States, helping ease concerns that surging shale supplies will undermine OPEC-led production cuts. U.S. drillers added two oil rigs in the week to July 14, bringing the total to 765, Baker Hughes (BHGE.N) said on Friday. RIG-OL-USA-BHI Rig additions in the past four weeks averaged five, the slowest pace since November. Expectations that a long-awaited crude market rebalancing was under way was also bolstered by the sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week to July 7.